This is "Actual Factual Gwinnett," a regular column in which Tyler Estep answers reader questions about Gwinnett happenings and history. Read previous editions — like this one about a college girl kidnapped and buried alive — by clicking the hyperlinks at the bottom of this column, where you'll also find information for submitting your own questions. Enjoy!
Hello friends. Today we have a question from reader Paula Hammer, whose full name I'm including because it's awesome.
Paula Hammer writes: "How did Webb Gin House Road get its name?"
Good question — and timely too.
For the unfamiliar: Webb Gin House Road, in addition to having a mouthful of a moniker, runs about five west-to-east miles between Brookwood High School and Ga. 20, touching (unincorporated) parts of Lawrenceville, Snellville and Grayson along the way.
It's been in the news a lot lately because some residents aren't so happy about a big ol' "millenial" housing project proposed near its intersection with the ever-congested Scenic Highway.
If you were to pull up a handy-dandy Google map of the entire stretch of road, it would look like this:
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Anyway, back to the name ... I've mastered how to spell Webb Gin House Road (no second "n"!), but had no earthly idea where it came from. City of Grayson historian Steven P. Starling did, however!
It basically boils down to this: Back in the late 1800s/early 1900s, there was a guy named Rev. Andrew J. Webb. He had a cotton gin, and the predecessor of the modern day road was how farmers got to it. It was, quite simply, the road that led to Webb's gin house.
Bonus historical tidbit: Webb's son, Alexander, later lived in the historical home at 2057 Grayson Highway — the "foremost example of Victorian architecture left in Grayson today," Starling declared in his notes about local places of interest. The residence is now home to the Gwinnett School of Music.
So keep your eyes peeled, Paula, for the future "Webb Music House Road."
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I, Tyler Estep, am a staff writer with the AJC and a Gwinnett County native. To submit “Actual Factual Gwinnett” questions, contact me at tyler.estep@coxinc.com, @ByTylerEstep on Twitter or via the form below.
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